Summary

In the months leading up to Wallace's (Jen's father's) surgery, the town of Clement has more than its fair share of tragedy. Various people, young and old, die in accidents, from disease, or from suicide. Several cars blow up; a friend turns out to have cancer, and some of the local Burn Outs have to be taken in straitjackets back to the mental hospital. The townspeople hypothesize that the problem is that Mercury is retrograde, causing all sorts of catastrophes. Jen reminisces about various friends she has known who have committed suicide and remembers their funerals. In Clement, these funerals tend to be strange, eclectic affairs, not focusing on one religious viewpoint, with all sorts of folks wearing whatever they think is appropriate for sending off the soul of someone they love.

In the week before Wallace's surgery, it is more like Mercury is personally targeting him. Wallace...